Pharma

Nanofiber Solutions hopes to change how cancer drugs are studied

An Ohio State University startup thinks its technology will change the way researchers test the latest cancer drugs in the lab. Nanofiber Solutions uses polymer nanofibers to more accurately simulate the three-dimensional structure of human tissue in cell culture dishes.

An Ohio State University startup thinks its technology will change the way researchers test the latest cancer drugs in the lab.

Nanofiber Solutions
uses polymer nanofibers to more accurately simulate the three-dimensional structure of human tissue in cell culture dishes. Most lab testing occurs on human cells that are placed in flat, plastic cell-culture dishes and plates, which the company says yield less-accurate results.

“That environment is so different from what exists inside the human body that any drugs that emerge from that type of research are, not surprisingly, limited in their ability to treat cancer,” said co-founder John Lannutti, boldly.

With the company’s nanofibers placed inside those dishes, however, potential new drugs can be tested in an environment that more closely resembles real-world applications, according to the company.

Nanofiber Solutions was born from an entry in a business plan competition written by co-founder and then-doctoral student Jed Johnson, who was studying materials science engineering. After winning the contest and $90,000 in cash and in-kind services, Johnson teamed up with Lannutti, an Ohio State materials science engineering professor, to build the company.

So far, the company has raised around $500,000, including a $50,000 grant from economic development group TechColumbus. Nanofiber Solutions has racked up some early sales to various research departments at Ohio State, and a few biomedical companies have picked up samples to evaluate the effectiveness of the product, Lannutti said.

But like most startups, Nanofiber Solutions is going to need some cash to ramp commercialization efforts, whether it comes from angel investors or a partnership with a bigger company. “Once you get on the treadmill of funding, you have to keep running,” Lannutti said.

Obtaining funding would help the company tackle many of its other challenges, which include increasing production capacity, overcoming potential regulatory hurdles and demonstrating that its product is superior to others on the market.

“Part of the issue is that people don’t know we exist and don’t have clear data that shows the advantages of what we make,” Lannutti said. “So we’re trying to change that.”

Nanofiber Solutions doesn’t market its products as sterile, so the products aren’t subject to regulation by the Food and Drug Administration. Currently, customers must by sterilize the nanofibers by exposing them to radiation. But Lannutti acknowledged the regulatory battle is one Nanofiber Solutions will have to fight in the future.

Aside from solving routine business challenges, a big key to the company’s success will be establishing relationships with major research institutions and companies that can validate its technology, said Michael Camp, academic director of OSU’s Center for Entrepreneurship who’s also worked as an adviser to Nanofiber Solutions.

“You’ve got to be substantially cheaper or doing things others can’t do,” Camp said. “Their technology allows them to do things others can’t.”

For more on Nanofiber Solutions’ background, watch this video:

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